The Pistons allowed Kawhi Leonard to dictate the outcome of Sunday night’s game
With the Pistons drawing a matchup with the Clippers on the road Sunday night, the weak link in Detroit’s performance can be distilled down to their defense. Los Angeles forward Kawhi Leonard dropped 55 points in a stellar shooting display against the Pistons, and the normally-stringent Motown defense was under attack all game long.
Leonard started the game hot with eight points in the first four minutes, matching his teammate James Harden, but the former continued to make it rain from all over the court. Pulling up from behind the arc, shaking defenders in the mid-range or driving to the basket, Leonard put on a scoring clinic from tip-off that persisted all the way through the Pistons’ 13-point loss.
"We tried to trap him," Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. "We tried to deny him, you know, we tried to send multiple bodies at him. But again, give him credit. He's a hell of a player and was able to do what he did."
Before this contest, the Pistons lost a tough two-point affair on the road against the Jazz, and Detroit point forward Ausar Thompson was promptly benched in the second half of the contest in favor of alternative defensive options. Usually a stalwart on defense, Thompson sat out most of the second half, and he did not factor in the result of the game.
Then one game later, Thompson had the unlucky fortune of guarding Leonard to start the game, and that outcome quickly tilted in the Clippers’ favor. Leonard began lighting up Thompson, and the Pistons shifted Tobias Harris onto the Los Angeles veteran before Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland tried their best in relief.
"You've got, obviously, decisions to make whether or not or how you're going to get the ball out of his hands," Bickerstaff said. "But again, he's a heck of a player. I think we all know that. Allowing him 17 free throws, it's tough also on top of that, when he's got it going and then you're fouling and putting him on the free throw line, helping him get in a rhythm. But again, I thought we did a good job late of getting the ball out of his hands, but we just didn't get to it early enough."
Truthfully, the Pistons were unable to find an answer for Leonard on Sunday night. With the No. 2 defense in the NBA entering the game, Detroit usually relies on defense to carry the team through difficult matchups, so it is unlike a J.B. Bickerstaff-coached unit to let up on that end of the floor.
Of course, the slow start from Pistons guard Cade Cunningham in the first half did not help matters. Cunningham was held scoreless through two quarters, so he did not begin his 27-point output until the second half began. Still, Cunningham did his best to pull the Pistons back into the game late, and Detroit worked to cut Los Angeles’ deficit to 10 points before Leonard helped his squad close out the game.
With Sunday’s loss in the books, the Pistons fell to 24-8 on the season, though they maintain the first position in the Eastern Conference moving forward.
Next up, Detroit will stay in Los Angeles for a game against the Lakers on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 10:30 pm.
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